This invention relates to towed vehicles, and more particularly to towed vehicles which extend the body of the towing vehicle.
The energy crisis has been the cause of dramatic changes in many aspects of transportation, including the automobile. Significant changes in motor design and styling have been recently introduced by the major automobile manufacturing companies, all with the view to increasing the efficiency of the automobile. One of the most dramatic and radical programs being undertaken by these companies is the "scale down" program under which the automobile manufacturing companies are systematically reducing the overall size of each of their model lines. This reduction in vehicle size has touched every aspect of the automobile, including the trunk area. The trade-off between passenger space and trunk space reductions is usually struck in favor of reducing trunk space rather than passenger space.
Accordingly, the newer smaller model automobiles have only very limited trunk space, both in terms of total volume, and in terms of trunk breadth and depth. This has all resulted in a pressing need for selectively extending the body of the automobile when luggage requirements exceed the trunk capacity.
A vehicle body extender is more than a typical trailer for it not only enlarges the carrying capacity of the automobile, but also is integrated with that vehicle from both a structural and performance point of view. With respect to the former, the vehicle body extender must be integrated with the energy absorption system, operatively associated with the rear bumper of the automobile with which it is coupled. This is important in that impacts to the rear of the extender must be effectively transfered to that absorption system. With respect to the latter, the vehicle body extender must steer with the automobile to which it is attached in both forward and reverse directions. This is also very important for many people have great difficulty in backing up an automobile with an articulated trailer attached, and this difficulty has resulted in many serious accidents.
In addition to the above characteristics, the vehicle body extender must also be capable of being efficiently and quickly coupled with the towing automobile. This must be accomplished without any sacrifice in the integrity of the union. Additionally, the vehicle body, once coupled to the automobile, must not be overloaded, thereby having an adverse effect on the braking and steerability of the combination vehicle-extender.